Well-Aged Music

My taste is eclectic; here you will find everything from folk, blues, and jug-band music to experimental bluegrass and avant-garde classical music. My bias is certainly towards acoustic music with little production and much enthusiasm, but my sole selection criteria is Quality.

Disclaimer

The music on this site is mostly old, hard-to-find, or under-noticed music. Many of the musicians are dead. As for the living musicians, I put their music here because I want to spread and publicize it, not because I want to rip them off. Musicians, like artists, are a hard-working and under-compensated lot, and I highly recommend that if you like the music you find here, you seek out their other recordings. Of course, if any musician finds their music here and wants it removed, contact me and I'll happily oblige.

Taxonomy

Roots - Where our music came from; our shared heritage. It may not sound contemporary, but if you listen you can hear its echoes in everything that has come since.

Branches - A bridge between cultures, styles, musical languages. As a meeting of two or more rivers, the sources mingle and new life is born.

Fruits - Music ripened to perfection. It has absorbed the roots, grown in the sun of contemporary life, and made a new statement. Sweet and nourishing.

Seeds - The start of something new. These musicians went out on a limb, and did something never done before. Whether they had followers or not, their music retains the stamp of individuality and experimentation.

The other known picture of The Irate Pirate

If ye wants to support the pirate in his plunderin's, and ye be headin' on board the Rapidshare vessel, use this gangway.

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December 13, 2008

Well, the boat's been shaken a bit, but I think we need to get back to the task at hand: sailing the seas of music. But to acknowledge the great, bleak unknown storm that broods on the horizon, I thought I'd try something a little different.

This album is top-notch. Both musicians are at the top of their game, and one is a world-class virtuoso. And yet, chances are, you haven't heard of them. And I'm not going to tell you about them. In fact, I'm not even going to tell you they're names, or the name of the album. And there aren't any ID3 tags to help you either. The iTunes database won't tell you, and unless you have a very sophisticated ear, you won't be able to guess.

Which means my post won't be deterring any potential sales of the artist's music, and the artist also won't have any chance to benefit from the publicity.

And for you, o gregarious listener, it means you won't have any pre-conceived notions or expectations when you listen. Imagine a black disc arrived in the mail with the instructions: listen.

Really, just listen. Having no name, it has no collection-value, no genre-limitation, no historical background -- essentially, no conceptual attachment. Just experience it for what it is.

Yes, I was thinking of John Fahey. Back to the drawing board, by the was this is an excellent album. I'm amateur musicologist and obsessed collector. This a lot more fun than just getting a straight album. It really can test your ears on how much you know about music. I just want to say I'll miss the Broken Engine, but I'll say this. I'll join in the fight and start my own page. I have a trove of 78 rpm's and other goodies.

Hello to the dirt farmer.... from the Mushroom Man. Whomever is on this album, I must say very nice to listen to. I can imagine myself on the Steppes of Mongolia, or maybe in the Andes in South America. At any rate it does what good music outta'.. Take you away to that other place......Maybe to Spain, or maybe to Greece in the shade on a hot Mediterranean day, watching a beautiful girl dance a flamenco, or maybe some old Cuban puffing on a cigar while he coaches the notes from an old handed down guitar.... Took me to all these places........

really great idea ! thanks for sharing ! ... too bad that I guess at the first title, after you guess what the instruments are it's not difficult to findI know the female artist from others products but not this one who is really good! I hope you will do the same for others albums because it's really exciting ! thanks from chiranne !

@ HungryFreaks - ah yes, marc ribot! one of my favorite contemporary players, why didn't i think of that. anyone who can play Haitian classical guitar and schizophrenic Albert Ayler / John Zorn guitar is pretty special. it could be him, i suppose. but it isn't.

@ Matt - did you think you could seduce me out of silence with your strokes & appreciative comments? ha!

thanks for them, but i don't think it would be fair if i told you. maybe i'll email you a hint. maybe.

Well, Irate Pirate, I was the first to post a comment and my musical ears failed me. I said, "I'll join in the fight and start my own page. So here we go and to anyone else interested. Yet, I have only have one album posted. This is the official debut. Enjoy....

Great exercise, Pirate! I heard the instrument and it sent me to youTube looking for players of said instrument, and a video came up right away...She's remarkable! Thanks for sharing this, and everything else. You run a tight ship over there...